1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to contact devices wherein a printed circuit cooperates with contact brushes to make and break circuits in accordance with the relative movements of the elements.
2. Prior Art
The use of a printed circuit board and a rotary switch is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,038,504 issued to McAnulty et al, 4,232,207 issued to Kuhl et al, 4,246,453 issued to Marchase et al, 4,379,955 issued to Comerford and 4,392,030 issued to Buss. However, none of these patents teach a rotary switch which is driven by a motor.
French Pat. No. 1,305,422 is directed to a windshield wiper control system and teaches a control 26 which may be moved into one of three positions to connect one of three contacts 5, 6, 7 to a rotating metal disc 1 having three annular contact portions 2, 3, 4. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,011,114 issued to Steeb and 3,035,128 issued to Maynard, generally teach a motor driven printed circuit board switch. The patent to Maynard teaches a switch using stationary contacts against which rotating printed circuit boards are spring-loaded.
There still remains a need for a simpler, less costly rotary switch with improved reliability and ease of assembly. These are some of the problems this invention overcomes.